Career

Program Manager

I solve challenging operations problems with a combination of technology, people and process.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Numbers

Technology

Problem Solving

Day to Day

I meet with people all day to understand the root cause of problems, understand the nature of systems and how all of our processes are working to support our goals. If any of them are out of line, I work with the appropriate areas: engineering, operations, partners, etc. to ensure that we make the changes necessary in order to make our customers thrilled with our products. I also research outside systems to see if we can take anything from them to improve our own operations.

Skills & Qualities Beyond School

Understand logic and algorithms. Sentence structure is essentially an algorithm; it's nothing intimidating. You can then apply logic from other systems to the one that you're working in and see if it fits.
Confidence is also critical and you have to believe that you are sufficiently capable in your role to deliver on whatever has been asked of you. If you believe in you, everyone else will too.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for high school students

First, learn what makes you tick. If you love solving challenging problems and communicating, this is your thing-- even if you're an introvert (yes, really). Shadow someone- a lot of it won't make sense, but you'll pick up on valuable work lingo. Take up a management role in a school organization and you'll start to learn some of how the role works too.

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

BachelorEnglish Language and Literature, General

GraduateBusiness Administration and Management, General

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

"You should be an engineer instead."

It's not an either or; you can be technical without having a technical title and not technical with a technical title. It's really arbitrary as to what your title is.

Challenges I Overcame

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

I was physically and emotionally abused by an ex and eventually convinced him to leave. Whatever you need to do to leave, do it. It will not get better until you leave and then the future gets really bright.